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Injection Molding

Streamlining processes starts with finding the right workflow. 3D Systems’ advanced solutions for mold and tool design and manufacturing mean you can create better, more complex injection molded parts at a lower cost and in a fraction of the time

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Experience the transformative power of 3D technology through the achievements that our customers have made in healthcare. Not only do our end-to-end 3D solutions change possibilities – they are transforming lives.

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From industry-leading engineering software and 3D printers, to printer materials and unique healthcare and manufacturing services, 3D Systems delivers the solutions you need to empower your business growth

3D Printers

With the broadest scope of 3D printing technologies we offer you a perfect combination of 3D printing process, material and application expertise.

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Explore our customer stories, blog, videos and archived webinars to learn more about how our customers are optimizing their designs, transforming their workflows, bringing innovative products to market and driving new business models.

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3D Systems takes part in many different marketing events on a regular basis. These range from trade shows to seminars and online webinars. We also participate indirectly in a host of other engagements. 3D Systems is represented via our extensive reseller network at many events.

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Healthcare

Our customer service and technical support teams for simulation, surgical planning and medical device manufacturing are committed to the highest levels of service. This support is available in real time via telephone, email or the web.

How to Buy

3D Printers

From plastics to metals, a 3D printer can open up new possibilities in digital manufacturing and workflows. Our printer sales are handled via an extensive global partner network and our channel managers.

Software

3D Systems offers a comprehensive line of software solutions that cover everything from scanning to part and tool design to subtractive and additive manufacturing and inspection. Use our software solutions to increase your productivity, shorten your delivery time, and get quality results.

Cimatron CAD/CAM Software

Dramatically increase your productivity, competitiveness and profitability with a wide range of dedicated applicative tools as well as full range of CNC technologies from simple 2.5 axis milling and drilling to complex 5-axis machining.

3D Sprint for Plastic 3D Printing

Quickparts – On Demand Manufacturing Services

On Demand Manufacturing Services (Quickparts) has changed the way product development and manufacturing professionals source custom-designed parts. Get instant, custom generated quotes for the production of parts, anywhere in the world.

Healthcare solutions

Medical Simulators

3D Systems' product line is at the forefront of virtual reality medical simulation. The training simulators offer clinicians the most realistic, hands-on experience to master critical skills to ensure procedural efficiency without patient risk.

Anatomical Models

Using medical image data, 3D Systems services use different additive manufacturing processes and materials to produce physical anatomical models, with the option to sterilize for reference during surgery.

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In his best-selling 2000 book, Malcolm Gladwell defines a tipping point as “the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point.”

By that definition, direct metal printing (DMP) is standing on the precipice, as it moves rapidly from prototyping to production for mission-critical, risk-averse applications in defense and aerospace, where nothing is left to chance.

An example of this mainstream acceptance is a long-term partnership between 3D Systems and Thales Alenia Space to leverage DMP for aerospace components.

Thales Alenia Space, based in Toulouse, France, is one of the leading aerospace suppliers in the world, with revenues topping 2 billion Euros in 2014. The company has 7,500 employees in eight countries, specializing in space telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, exploration and orbital infrastructures.

The 3D Systems / Thales Alenia Space collaboration is illustrated by the production of antenna brackets (190 x 230 x 290mm) for a geostationary telecommunications satellite. Direct Metal Printing is now qualified and fully available for titanium Thales Alenia Space aerospace applications. Today, for certain products like the satellites, 80 percent of metal parts are produced using 3D printing, replacing traditionally manufactured parts.

Quick and efficient expertise

Thales Alenia Space worked with the 3D Systems’ On Demand Manufacturing team in Belgium to design and print the LaserForm Ti Gr5 (A) brackets and guarantee that all quality aspects and tolerances were met.

3D Systems' On Demand Manufacturing, a 3D design-to-manufacturing service, is the world’s leading provider of unique, custom-designed parts, offering instant online quoting, expertise in 3D design and printing, and proven post-machining support in order to be able to deliver validated flight parts.

Thales Alenia Space and 3D Systems worked together to apply topological optimization to the 3D printing process following a design for manufacturability approach. Topological optimization determines the most-efficient material layout to meet the exact performance specifications of a part. It takes into consideration the given space allowed, loads that need to be handled, boundary conditions and other critical engineering factors.

Each of the four brackets for the satellite required an individualized design, as they are mounted on the antenna’s reflector edges and screwed onto a shaped surface.

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Proving its worth

The antenna brackets were produced by 3D Systems on 3D Systems' ProX DMP 320 machine. The ProX DMP 320 is designed for heavy-duty metal parts production. It uses a totally new architecture that simplifies set-up and provides the versatility to produce all types of part geometries in titanium (grades 1, 5 and 23), nickel super alloy and Stainless 316L.

Exchangeable manufacturing modules deliver increased applications versatility and less downtime when moving among different part materials. A controlled vacuum build chamber ensures that every part is printed with proven material properties, density and chemical purity.

Extremely low O2 levels in the ProX DMP 320 deliver several key benefits, including better conservation of powder quality, no micro oxidation of parts during printing, fewer oxide interstitials during printing, and improved mechanical properties for O2-sensitive alloys such as titanium.

Better parts in half the time

The combination of 3D Systems’ expertise and the advanced capabilities of the ProX DMP 320 delivered exactly what Thales Alenia Space needed in about half the time it would have taken with traditional manufacturing.

The DMP-produced titanium brackets are 25-percent lighter than brackets manufactured by traditional means and feature a better stiffness-to-weight ratio.

Production costs have been reduced considerably and total time from order to shipping—including file preparation, 3D printing, heat treatment, finishing, CNC milling, quality-control analysis, cleaning and data traceability—was four to five weeks, compared to 10 weeks using traditional methods.

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Accelerating DMP adoption

Antenna fixation brackets for satellites is just the beginning of the DMP collaboration between 3D Systems and Thales Alenia Space. In 2015, 3D Systems produced more than 50 different space components for three Thales Alenia Space geostationary satcoms. Thales Alenia expects to double the production in 2016 using DMP from 3D Systems, according to Florent Lebrun, an additive manufacturing specialist for antenna applications.

The collaboration between 3D Systems and Thales Alenia Space is emblematic of the accelerating adoption of DMP by defense and aerospace organizations worldwide. It appears to be just a matter of time before DMP takes its mainstream place alongside the traditional metal manufacturing processes that it complements.